Introduction

In 1926 the government of the
newly founded Irish Free State formed a coinage committee
to plan for a new Irish coinage. The chairman of the
committee was the Irish poet William Butler Yeats.

The government decision had
already been taken to issue a sterling currency rather
than to establish an independent Irish currency.

After some deliberation the
committee decided that the Irish harp would be used as
the national symbol on the coinage as it had been since
the 1530's and that the reverse designs would feature a
series of animals important to Ireland's mainly
agricultural economy. The alternate suggestion that the
coinage should feature Christian saints was ruled out as
it was felt that the coinage would be widely abused by
being made into religious medals.

A competition was organised and a
number of well known sculptors and coin designers were
invited to submit patterns for the coinage to the
committee. A prize was to be awarded to the winning
artist.

The designs submitted by Percy
Metcalf were awarded the prize and after some
modifications to the submitted designs the coinage went
into production in the Royal Mint in London.

Seven denominations were designed
and produced and the first coins of each denomination
were struck and issued dated 1928.

The
Designs 1928-1969

Note: The harp side of a modern
Irish coin is the obverse.
The animals appear on the reverse.

This is in-line with common
numismatic terminology where the side with the monarch or
symbol of the state is termed the obverse. For some
reason the Irish coins are frequently described with an
incorrect attribution of sides.

The reverse design of each coin
has its denomination in Irish script as well as in
numbers and also features the initials PM (Percy Metcalf)
within the field.

The common
obverse (1928 to 1937)

The design chosen for the common
obverse was of a 16 string Irish harp modelled on the
'Brian Boru' harp in Trinity College Dublin. The legend
Saorstat Eireann (Irish Free State, in Irish) surrounds,
and the date is divided either side of the harp.

The obverse design caused some
metal flow problems particularly associated with the
penny and halfcrown reverses. This is why many 'Saorstat'
pennies and halfcrowns in otherwise uncirculated
condition show weakness at the top of the sound box on the
right of the harp and occasionally in the halfcrown at the
handle on the left of the harp.

The common
obverse (1938 to date)

The change of the official name
of the country from the Irish Free State to The Republic
of Ireland in 1938 required a change in the legend on the
obverse of the coin.

At the same time the harp was
modified to impact the reverse design less and the legend
was modified to Eire (Ireland in Irish) and the date was
moved to one side of the harp.

The new design was introduced in
1939 but two pennies and one halfcrown are known dated
1938 which use the newer design. These coins are trial
strikings in proof quality but without frosted fields.

The
Denominations 1928 - 1969

The farthing (quarter of
a penny)

The animal chosen for the
farthing is a woodcock in flight. Despite its diminutive size the
woodcock was both an important game bird and an occasional
addition to the table of the poorest agricultural labourer.

The farthing was first struck in
1928 and last struck for circulation in 1959. There was an
additional issue in 1966, some of these 1966 farthings were used
in the coin sets issued for the commemoration of the 50th
anniversary 1916 rising.

The halfpenny

The animal chosen for the
halfpenny is a sow with piglets. The pig was a very important
animal in Irish rural life. Most families kept at least one
animal which was fed on the kitchen refuse and other vegetable
and animal scraps.

The halfpenny was first struck in
1928 and was last struck in 1967. It was demonetised on 31st
December 1969 along with the halfcrown.

The threepence

The animal chosen for the
threepence is a hare.

The threepence was first struck
in 1928, it was originally struck in nickel. The metal was
changed to cupro-nickel in 1942 and it was last struck in 1968.
It was demonetised on the 18th of February 1971 along with the
remaining denominations which had no counterpart in the decimal
coinage.

The sixpence

The sixpence was first struck in
1928, like the threepence it was originally struck in nickel. The
metal was changed to cupro-nickel in 1942 and it was last struck
in 1969.

There appears to have been an
initial intention to retain the sixpence in its decimal
equivalent of 2½ pence which explains its final striking date
being later than the other coins in the series and in fact
overlapping the first decimal issues in 1969. This plan never saw
fruition and the sixpence was demonetised on the 18th of
February 1971 along with the remaining denominations which had no
counterpart in the decimal coinage.

The shilling (twelve
pence)

The animal chosen for the
shilling is a bull. The cow and the breeding of cattle was (and
is) very important to Irish agriculture.

The shilling was first struck in
1928. The coin was originally struck in silver (750/1000). The
final silver issue was in 1942. The 1951 issue was the first in
cupro nickel.

There was a minor design change
to the reverse in 1959 to improve the striking characteristics of
the coin.

The shilling was last struck in
1968. It was succeeded in 1969 by the decimal 5 pence which had
the same size, weight and basic design. The shillings continued to
circulate as 5 pence pieces until 1992 when they were demonetised
along with the original 5 pence and were replaced by a smaller
coin.

The florin (two shillings)

The animal chosen for the florin
is a salmon. The fishing industry was (and is) very important to
the Irish economy. The salmon represents both the sea fisheries
and the freshwater game fishing.

The florin was first struck in
1928. The coin was originally struck in silver (750/1000). The
final silver issue was in 1943. The 1951 issue was the first in
cupro nickel. The decision to issue change the coin's metal
content to cupro nickel was made before the 1943 coins were
issued. So these coins and some of the 1942 coins were returned
to the mint for melting. A small number escaped and these
surviving 1943 florins are the great rarity of the modern Irish
series.

The florin was last struck in
1968. It was succeeded in 1969 by the decimal 10 pence which had
the same size, weight and basic design. The florins continued to
circulate as 10 pence pieces until 1993 when they were
demonetised along with the original 10 pence and were replaced by
a smaller coin.

The halfcrown (two
shillings and six pence)

The design was modified in 1938
to allow for better metal flow in the striking process. (see
obverse design above).

A mule (a coin with mismatched
sides) occurs in 1961 when an old die from the 1928-1937 coin was
used to strike a small number of halfcrowns. The is the only
major variety in the series (so far!).(see - Identifying a 1961
Mule halfcrown)

The halfcrown was first struck in
1928. The coin was originally struck in silver (750/1000). The
final silver issue was in 1943. The 1951 issue was the first in
cupro nickel. The decision to issue change the coin's metal
content to cupro nickel was made before the 1943 coins were
issued. So these coins and some of the 1942 coins were returned
to the mint for melting. A number escaped and these surviving
1943 halfcrowns are scarce. (illustrated - 1943 Halfcrown)

1964 halfcrown

The halfcrown was last struck in
1967. It was demonetised on 31st December 1969 along with the
halfpenny.

The Ten Shilling Piece

In 1966, in an
initial attempt at decimalisation, a ten shilling piece was
introduced. Its design commemorates the Easter rising of 1916.
Despite its patriotic design the coin was not popular and of the
2 million produced about 1 1/4 million were subsequently melted.

The Metals

The farthing, halfpenny and penny
were struck in bronze at the same standard as the current English
coins which were in circulation in Ireland at the time.

The threepence and sixpence were
struck in nickel. They were similar in diameter but thicker than
the circulating English coins which were of debased (50%) silver.

In 1942 the threepence and
sixpence were changed to cupro-nickel which has better wear
characteristics than nickel but which discolours more easily.

The shilling, florin and
halfcrown were struck in .750 silver alloyed with .250 copper and
at the same weight as the circulating English coins which were of
debased (50%) silver. The earlier English sterling silver (925/1000)
silver coins were still in circulation and remained so until the
1960's. So three standards of silver were in circulation in Ireland in 1928.

The decision to debase the three
Irish silver denominations to CuNi was implemented in the coinage
act of 1950.

This was realised in 1951 with
the issue of a the shilling, florin and halfcrown in cupro-nickel
in-line with the English currency which had been similarly
debased in 1947.

The 1966 ten shilling piece was
made of 833/1000 silver.

The 1943 rarities

The mintage figures for the 1943
florins and halfcrowns were similar to those for the immediately
preceding years. However they were not issued before the
decision to remove the silver content from the coins was made.

A large number of unissued silver
florins and halfcrowns dated 1943 were returned to the Royal Mint
for melting. Only a small number escaped and the florin is
particularly rare. The florin was not discovered until 1968 by
which time the Irish silver coinage was already being removed
from circulation as the silver content had risen above its face
value.

Despite the particular reason for
the 1943 rarities it is worth keeping in mind that the 1930's
saorstat issues are scarce in high grades. In particular the 1937
halfcrown in brilliant uncirculated condition is considered as
rare a coin as the 1943 halfcrown and commands a similar price.

The eight coins in the modern
series which could command prices above 1,000 dollars are :

The last of these coins (the 1940
penny) is relatively common in lower grades and quite easy to
obtain in lustrous EF (US grading AU50), and is only really
scarce in nice Uncirculated or better (US grade MS63+).

It is possible that the 1985
twenty pence piece will join this illustrious group. At the
moment the number in existence is still a subject of speculation.
However I have seen three examples (all of which were in my
opinion genuine).

Decimalisation and
Current Coinage (1969 to 2000)

The Irish Government decided to
follow the international trend and adopt a decimal currency
instead of the pound/shilling/penny or LSD system in the mid 1960s.
Because the coinage circulating in Ireland comprised both British
and Irish coins it was deemed prudent to introduce decimal coins
at the same time as and with the same denominations as the
British coinage.

'Decimal Day' was 15 Feb 1971. In
fact the old and new currencies circulated together for three
days (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) before the older coinage was
demonetised.

It was briefly mooted that the
sixpence would continue as a coin with a new value of 2½ pence (which
explains its production in 1969) but this idea was shelved before
decimalisation took place.

The new decimal 5 pence and 10
pence coins were identical in size and of equivalent value to the
previous coinage, these coins were introduced early, in 1969, and
the older counterparts were not demonetised.

The new 50 pence piece was
introduced in 1970.

The decimal bronze coins were
issued in reasonable quantities in 1969 and 1970 in sets of
decimal coins to familiarise the population with the new coins.
These early issues were dated 1971. There does not appear to be a
method of distinguishing the 1969 and 1970 issues of these coins
from the volume production in 1971.

The decimal sets with the 1969
dated 5 and 10 pence and the 1970 dated 50 pence contain bronze
coins dated 1971 which were almost certainly the early production
pieces.

The bronze coins : Halfpenny,
Penny and Twopence

The designs for all three new
bronze coins were new and prepared by Gabriel Hayes.

These coins were struck from 1969
and examples were available from that year, however these early
strikings were all dated 1971 and indistinguishable from the
actual 1971 issue.

From 1990 the two remaining
denominations, the Penny and Twopence, were produced from copper
plated steel which is significantly cheaper than the bronze which
was previously in use.

The Halfpenny

The design on the halfpenny is of
a bird in a Celtic style with Celtic knot work panels inserted.

The halfpenny was issued from
1971 until 1986 when it was demonetised. The last issue for
circulation was in 1982, by which time it had become redundant.
The halfpenny was demonetised on January 1st, 1987.

The Twopence

The Five pence

The design for the five pence was
taken directly from the previous shilling. The shilling continued
to circulate until the five pence was reduced in size and the
larger coins and the remaining old shillings were withdrawn
together in 1992. The new design also reversed the direction of
the bull.

The Ten pence

The design for the ten pence was
taken directly from the previous florin. The florin continued to
circulate until the ten pence was reduced in size and the larger
coins and the remaining old florins were withdrawn together in
1993. The new design also reversed the direction of the salmon.

The Twenty Pence

The twenty pence was not one of
the original decimal issues. It was introduced in 1986. Its
introduction also heralded the final separation of the Irish
coinage from the British coinage. The legal separation took place
in 1978 when the Irish pound joined the EMS (European Monetary
System) and Sterling was kept outside. In 1982 the British
coinage was augmented with a 20 pence and a pound which were not
matched by similar coins in the Irish system. However it was not
until the introduction of the Irish twenty pence in 1986 with an
entirely different size, shape and metal content that the two
coinages were fully separated.

The twenty pence also includes a
potential rarity as it was struck in experimental numbers in 1985
and very few of these coins have been identified and found their
way into collections.

The Fifty pence was used to carry
the first commemorative design in the decimal series in 1988 with
the Dublin Millennium celebration. In fact Dublin was much more
than 1000 years old in 1988, it was a major commercial centre
striking coins as early as 995AD as will
be seen elsewhere on these pages, Dublin was actually founded no later
than 840AD and probably much earlier.

The Pound

The pound coin was introduced in
1990, replacing the pound note which becoming of too low a value
to be cost effective as paper money. A proof striking was issued
in a presentation case dated 1990.

The design for the pound coin is
an Irish red deer - The design is very much in the style of Percy
Metcalf's design for the 1928 coinage and was executed by Tomas
Ryan. The design was also used on the Irish ECU coinage in 1990
where it is augmented with a mountain background.

The pound coin has an edge which
is milled and subsequently engrailed. This process leads to
errors and examples exist for each date with no engrailing on the
edge. These are not real varieties as they are just mint errors (Most
examples have evidence of the engrailing starting - at two
opposite points in the rim).

In 1997 The Central Bank issued a
sterling silver proof pound coin dated 1995 to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the United Nations. This coin is larger than the
circulating pound coin and no currency versions were made.

I believe that this coin was
manufactured as one of a series of coins of similar size and
weight produced by the Royal Mint to commemorate the 50th
Anniversary of the UN. From the delay in the issue and the lack
of any reference to Ireland on the early documentation for the
set I speculate that either Ireland was not originally invited to
take part (or that it was invited and declined the initial
invitation) and under consideration subsequently joined the
scheme.

A millennium commemorative issue
dated 2000 and with a design based on the broghter boat, an early
Irish ornamental boat made in gold in the National Museum of
Ireland has been issued. Silver piedfort proof coins have been
made of this design.